The Five is an American talk show on Fox News Channel featuring a rotating panel of who discuss current political issues and pop culture. The show premiered in July 2011, replacing the Glenn Beck program, and airs on weekdays at 5:00 p.m. ET with replays at 4:00 a.m. ET.[3]

On October 3, 2011, after successful ratings and high popularity, Fox News announced that The Five would become the permanent 5p.m. series, as the program was previously announced to last only during the summer.[4]

The Five is currently the second-most-watched program in all of cable news in the United States, placing only behind The O'Reilly Factor,[5][6] also on the Fox News Channel. The program has occasionally been the number one rated cable news series in the key 25 to 54 viewing demographic.[7][8]

Contents

According to the initial Fox News press release announcing The Five, the show features a "roundtable ensemble of five rotating Fox personalities who [...] discuss, debate and at times debunk the hot news stories, controversies and issues of the day."[9] Fox News chairman Roger Ailes said the format for the show was inspired by chat-oriented programs such as The View; it has also been compared to the "Great American Panel" segment on Fox News' Hannity.[10]

The show is made up of six blocks. Each of the first five blocks is introduced, closed and loosely moderated by a different co-host. The co-host's block may be on a single topic or multiple topics. The final block is One More Thing: The co-hosts take turns sharing a final thought (on varying topics) before the show ends. The show's co-hosts are:[11]

Typically, the panel comprises Bolling, Gutfeld and Perino, with Beckel or Williams (usually Beckel) representing the liberal point of view, and a rotation of Tantaros and Guilfoyle filling the last spot.

Political Lightning Round: Each co-host briefly shares a political story that may have been under-reported that day.

Music Cues: Formerly a gag by only Gutfeld, co-hosts of the show will frequently misidentify the artist performing the music leading into their segments.

One More Thing: The hosts take turns sharing a final thought (on varying topics) before the show ends.

Bob's Tease for One More Thing: Bob Beckel offers a tease for the upcoming final block, emphasizing, with stentorian glory, that there is, yet, "ONE more thing". Usually done in an often successful effort to startle co-host Guilfoyle.

Greg's Banned Phrase: Gutfeld uses his "One More Thing" to "outlaw" a word or phrase he dislikes or feels is overused. On the August 23rd, 2013 edition of the show, in response to a viewer question about how he chooses banned words, he said that he bans words that replace original thought; that is, phrases that tempt a person to go with a clichéed, empty phrase instead of finding words to describe what they're actually thinking.[12]

Greg's Resurrected Phrase: Gutfeld uses his "One More Thing" to propose a word or phrase, usually old-fashioned, he wants to see in use again.

The Secret World of Dana Perino: Gutfeld uses his "One More Thing" to reveal a disturbing, previously unknown "fact" about Dana Perino.

Greg Gutfeld's Dreams of My Five: Gutfeld uses his "One More Thing" to relate the events of a dream he had about the show or its hosts.

Reaction to the show among critics has been mostly positive, though the week it premiered, Alex Pareene, columnist for the left-leaning website Salon.com, slammed it as "boring and lame" and "not even worth getting outraged about."[13]Entertainment Weekly TV critic Ken Tucker dubbed the show his "favorite guilty pleasure" and praised its freewheeling style and zany humor, calling it "a delightfully nutty show with an undercurrent of ragin’ crazy."[14]Mediaite's Frances Martel, examining cable news' shift toward more personality-driven commentary, praised The Five for adding an element of entertainment to the news: "Beyond having opinions, the new generation of cable news talk shows spearheaded by The Five have personalities, characters and character arcs that are worth tuning in for. ... Unlike the previous, host-driven generation of opinion shows, The Five adds a refreshing new element to cable news– a plot."[15]The Daily Show with Jon Stewart would later take that line of thought to strange new places when "correspondent" Samantha Bee debuted her "one-woman show" about the supposed romantic subplot on The Five.[16]

The show's "anything goes" attitude has led it into some minor controversies, particularly involving co-host Bob Beckel's on-air profanity[17] and insensitive remarks. In August 2011, Beckel was forced to apologize on-air when, while trying to clarify an earlier remark wherein he called Michael Vick a "redneck," said the term was not racial, because "blacks are rednecks, whites are rednecks, I was a redneck, Chinamen are rednecks."[18] A discussion about Millikin University's decision to support faculty member James St. James (not to be confused with Club KidsJames St. James), who as a child was convicted in the murder of his family,[19] prompted a petition on change.org, in response to the "mocking" tone of the discussion, which was described as a verbal "attack [on] the Millikin community".[20]

The Five debuted in July 2011 to lower ratings than the Glenn Beck program had been getting, but it still handily won its time slot.[21] The show gained broader success within months of airing, some afternoons even rivaling Beck's former audience.[10]

After only several months airing, The Five consistently beat its competitors on MSNBC and CNN combined, and ranked among the top ten cable-news shows.[22] In addition, the show is paying off more with advertisers, who were reluctant to be associated with the controversial content of Glenn Beck's show.[22]

The Five was the sixth-most-watched cable-news program during the latter half of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012;[23][24] it had jumped to fourth place by the third quarter of 2012,[25] pulling in especially high numbers during the 2012 Republican Convention.[26]The Five drew 4.4 million viewers on Election Day 2012.[27]

As of April 2013, The Five is the second-most-watched program in all of cable news, placing behind The O'Reilly Factor.[5]

The Five is filmed live at 1211 Avenue of the Americas (also known as the News Corp. Building), New York City. The studio is located on W. 47th Street across the street from Tender Restaurant and Lounge. Studio shades are opened during show and closed shortly after. Photos are not allowed outside studio while shooting is in progress.